C5(2) The Rise of Greek City-States Setting the Scene“We live around the sea like frogs around a pond,”
noted the Greek thinker Plato. Indeed, the Mediterranean and Aegean seas
were as central to the development of Greek civilization as the Nile was to
the Egyptians. The ancient Greeks absorbed many ideas and beliefs from
the older civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. At the same time, they
evolved their own unique ways.In particular, the Greeks developed new
ideas about how best to govern a society. Geography of the Greek Homeland As you have read, the earliest civilizations rose in fertile river valleys. There,
strong rulers organized irrigation works that helped farmers produce
food surpluses needed to support large cities. A very different set of
geographic conditions influenced the rise of Greek civilization. Mountains and Valleys Greece is part of the Balkan peninsula,
which extends southward into the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Mountains divide the peninsula into isolated valleys. Beyond the
rugged coast, hundreds of rocky islands spread toward the horizon. *
The Greeks who farmed the valleys or settled on the scattered
islands did not create a large empire such as that of the Egyptians or
Persians. Instead, they built many small city-states, cut off from one
another by mountains or water. Each included a city and its surrounding
countryside. Greeks fiercely defended the independence of their
tiny city-states. Endless rivalry led to frequent wars. The Seas While mountains divided Greeks, the seas were a vital
link to the world outside. With its hundreds of bays, the Greek coastline
provided safe harbors for ships. The Greeks became skilled
sailors, carrying cargoes of olive oil, wine, and marble around the
eastern Mediterranean. They returned not only with grains and
metals but also with ideas, which they adapted to their own needs. For
example, the Greeks expanded the Phoenician alphabet. The resulting Greek
alphabet became the basis for all western alphabets.
By 750 b.c., rapid population growth was forcing many Greeks to leave
their own overcrowded valleys. With fertile land limited, the Greeks
expanded overseas. Gradually, a scattering of Greek colonies took root all
around the Mediterranean from Spain to Egypt. Wherever they traveled,
Greek settlers and traders carried their ideas and culture.
Setting the Scene “We live around the sea like frogs around a pond,”
noted the Greek thinker Plato. Indeed, the Mediterranean and Aegean seas
were as central to the development of Greek civilization as the Nile was to
the Egyptians. The ancient Greeks absorbed many ideas and beliefs from
the older civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. At the same time, they
evolved their own unique ways. In particular, the Greeks developed new
ideas about how best to govern a society.
Geography of the Greek Homeland
As you have read, the earliest civilizations rose in fertile river valleys. There,
strong rulers organized irrigation works that helped farmers produce
food surpluses needed to support large cities. A very different set of
geographic conditions influenced the rise of Greek civilization.
Mountains and Valleys Greece is part of the Balkan peninsula,
which extends southward into the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Mountains divide the peninsula into isolated valleys. Beyond the
rugged coast, hundreds of rocky islands spread toward the horizon. *
The Greeks who farmed the valleys or settled on the scattered
islands did not create a large empire such as that of the Egyptians or
Persians. Instead, they built many small city-states, cut off from one
another by mountains or water. Each included a city and its surrounding
countryside. Greeks fiercely defended the independence of their
tiny city-states. Endless rivalry led to frequent wars.
The Seas While mountains divided Greeks, the seas were a vital
link to the world outside. With its hundreds of bays, the Greek coastline
provided safe harbors for ships. The Greeks became skilled
sailors, carrying cargoes of olive oil, wine, and marble around the
eastern Mediterranean. They returned not only with grains and
metals but also with ideas, which they adapted to their own needs. For
example, the Greeks expanded the Phoenician alphabet. The resulting Greek
alphabet became the basis for all western alphabets.
By 750 b.c., rapid population growth was forcing many Greeks to leave
their own overcrowded valleys. With fertile land limited, the Greeks
expanded overseas. Gradually, a scattering of Greek colonies took root all
around the Mediterranean from Spain to Egypt. Wherever they traveled,
Greek settlers and traders carried their ideas and culture.